Thunders Legacy [B. Barnes] [Thunder Wolf B.2]

Chapter 9

Fern looked down at Sam, waving Clint into place from the ground. Wanda and Loki stood next to him, ready to help remove the net from the Thunderbird as quickly and efficiently as possible. Fern held her breath as the swinging stopped, and they were set on the ground, the net falling to the side. Shuri, Bruce, and a team of doctors raced forward only to have Fern wave them off.

Bucky ran over with Ryker following behind, instantly noticing Fern's demeanor. "Can everyone back up for a minute? Put all of your things down and just back up." He turned to the group trying to help Fern keep control of the situation. He looked back at Fern, walking into the open area where the other Thunderbird landed. "Shuri, Burce, you two can work on the Thunderbird when Fern gives the word; if we get too many people around it, who knows what could happen."

Fern walked over, giving the nod for the scientists to begin their work. "Good job handling that. Boran was worried when he saw all those people running over to her." She sighed, running a hand along her arm. "I want to apologize for what I said earlier."

"You don't need to. You were right. I was being selfish. I deeply fear you getting hurt or losing you, that sometimes it overrides everything else. I have, and always will have full confidence in you, Fern, but I will always do everything I can to protect you." Bucky smiled, pulling her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head, holding her until Shuri walked over to them.

"What's the situation?" Fern asked as Bucky let her go.

"It's not good...." Shuri trailed off. Fern took a deep breath and waved for Shuri to continue. "The Thunderbird had a severe injury to its right-wing and back, as well as a few internal injuries."

Fern clasped her hands together, holding them over her mouth; she closed her eyes for a second. She needed to think. "What can we do? Boran believes that Mellan could heal her, but even if he has those powers, he doesn't know how to use them at his age. We need a plan to help Thora." She breathed out, looking for hope in Shuri's eyes.

"It will take time, but I've been working on a healing cradle big enough for the Rhinos. It is almost done; a few more days to a week. It would be plenty big enough for the Thunderbird to fit in." Shuri explained.

"But we need to do something until the cradle is done. Can we set the wing back into some kind of split to help it begin to heal?" Bucky asked.

"If we can have enough people help, we should be able to do that."

"I'll speak with Boran. Put it all together, we'll see if Mellan can do anything first, as that is what Boran wanted. Our help is secondary. Also, however you make the splint, make sure it isn't able to break any of the feathers. Thunderbirds only molt every hundred years, and she's nowhere near that. If any wing feathers break, she won't be able to fly." Fern warned, looking between the Thunderbirds.

Shuri and Bruce nodded; Fern walked away from her friends to speak with Boran. "Did you know that she knew that? When did she get the time to learn that?" Bruce looked to Bucky.

"I have no idea. She's been popping all sorts of Thunderbird facts out of nowhere," Bucky's voice trailed off as his gaze watched Fern speak with the Thunderbird. "I've got a theory that I need you to test. It's only come to me recently, memories from Hydra." He turned to them, Shuri becoming worried from the look on his face. Concern, mixed with far more suspicion than it should be.

"What is it, Bucky?" Bruce asked.

"You remember when just before the Thunderbird died, we guessed that possibly there were plenty of things that Fern never got to know, just things that she thought because it was all she experienced. I believe that Fern's powers, at least her ability to speak with animals, didn't come from the Thunderbird." Bucky hesitated, making sure to keep an eye on Fern. He didn't want her to hear this until he had a better answer.

"You think that she was born with it?" Shuri proposed.

"I do. I remember Fern telling us about being hit by the Thunderbird's lightning when she was little and believing that was what sparked her powers. She mentioned how little kids always talk to animals and never thought anything different when they started talking back. I think, if anything, the energy from the Thunderbird's lightning brought her power to fruition. I don't know about the plants, but I truly think that she could always talk to animals. Maybe because of what the Thunderbird told her about losing her powers when it died, it didn't take all of them." Bucky's idea was only a theory.

"So we run scans on her brain and see if anything shows up? Do we have anything to go off of?" Bruce was concerned that Bucky was looking for a miracle. He wanted to help Fern as much as anyone else, but it felt like a bit of a reach.

"Tony ran tests on her the day of the attack. They're the most recent scans we'd have while her powers were fully active," Bucky noted. He had a hard time thinking about that day, but it is clear when he thinks about it.

"I'll talk with Tony and see what he thinks." Bruce gave Bucky a nod before walking off to find Tony.

Shuri turned to follow Bruce to the lab when Bucky's hand grabbed her arm gently. "Don't tell Fern exactly why you're doing the tests. I don't want to give her false hope." His voice was filled with hope but fear as well.

"Of course. But you'll have to tell her at some point, Bucky." Shuri weakly smiled. "If you think of anything else, you know where to find us."

"There is one more thing," Bucky paused, questioning himself. "Because of their connection, do you think Thunder could have transferred Fern all this random knowledge she's been presenting to us? They were in a coma for six months; I feel like that's plenty of time for some magical transfer." This idea, it made Bucky feel crazy for sure.

"I'll think about that when we do the tests. I don't know anything about magic; you'd have to find someone who does to truly give you an answer." Shuri patted Bucky's arm before walking off to her lab.

"So, do they have a plan?" Fern's voice startled Bucky, causing him to jump slightly. "Wow, are you okay?" She asked, confused.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. They will work with Tony and put all their genius brains together." Bucky chuckled. "Let's go check on Mellan. I'm sure he's realized something's going on by now." He smiled, throwing his arm around her shoulder. Shuri was right; he would need to tell her, but after they ran the tests.